Category Archives: Herald

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — A Malay-language Bible that does not use the word “Allah” has caused controversy among Malaysian Catholics, as the church here fights a court case to guarantee its right to use the word. The Catholic Herald newspaper, in its Sunday edition, criticised the release this week at an international bookfair of the new Bible, which uses the Hebrew word “Elohim” instead of “Allah” for God. “The Catholic bible that the church uses has the word ‘Allah’ for God whereas in comparison, this one does not,” the paper’s editor Father Lawrence Andrew told AFP. “The new Malay bible weakens the argument for using the word Allah because some groups are trying to substitute God with a foreign name, whereas Allah is the Malay word for God and has been the accepted translation for centuries,” he said. “The publishers have copied substantially from the Indonesian bible which was approved by the Indonesian Bible Society and the Catholic Church but this new version has not been approved by the society or the church in Indonesia or here.” The publishers of the bible could not be reached for comment. The Catholic Church has taken legal action against the government after it was ordered not to use the disputed word under threat of having its paper’s publishing permit revoked. Malaysian authorities argue the word should be used only by Muslims, who form the bulk of the country’s multicultural population. Andrew said Malaysian Christians have been using the word “Allah” for centuries in translations of the Bible, and in popular prayers. The opposition has also called for the ban to be revoked. “The term ‘Allah’ has been used in Indonesia and the Middle East by Christians without prosecution or controversy, despite both being overwhelmingly Muslim-majority regions,” opposition lawmaker Tony Pua said. “It has been proven beyond doubt that it is not a term specifically monopolised only by Muslims,” he said in a statement Saturday. A court is expected to decide on May 28 whether the Church has the right to use the word. Around 60 percent of Malaysia’s 27 million people are Muslim Malays. The rest includes indigenous tribes, as well as ethnic Chinese and Indians, variously practising Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, among others.

The Negeri Sembilan State Islamic Affairs Department has allowed a 15 month old girl, Hoo Joey, to convert without the consent of her father Hoo Ying Soon. The Syariah court gave interim custody of Hoo Joey to Chew Yin No/Siti Z,ubaidah Chew Abdullah. MCA spokesperson Gan Ping Sieu expressed regret that some people have taken advantage of the Syariah legal process to the detriment of the aggrieved spouse and his family members. In a statement released on Mar 6, “The child in question is born pursuant to a civil marriage contracted under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act (LRA) 1976. Therefore, the custody of the child must be determined by the civil courts. “At the controversial Federal court case on the custody battle between Subashini and her husband Saravanan/Mohd Shafi Abdullah, the Federal court judges unanimously ruled that those who contracted civil marriages are bound by the LRA in respect of divorce and custody of the children of the marriage. Thus the civil court continues to have jurisdiction over Chew Yin No/Siti Chew Abdullah.